The text this morning is from the Gospel of Matthew, the 13th chapter:
That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. And great crowds gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach. And he told them many things in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away. Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears, let him hear.”Thus far the text.
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“Hear then the parable of the sower: When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path. As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away. As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”
My dear friends in Christ,
Rarely do we have an opportunity like we do here, where Jesus explains His parable in such detail. He leaves no room for interpretation in the parable; the meaning is clear and concise.
So, why is it then that so many people take this parable the wrong way? Jesus is so clear, so transparent, that there shouldn’t be any reason as to why we get this wrong. But we do. Haven’t you heard people exhort you to be the good soil? Haven’t you heard people tell you to make sure you’re bearing fruit like the good soil does? Haven’t you heard people tell you to make sure that you’re not the bad soil or the path?
I mean, don’t get me wrong. If you’re hearing the Word of God, the Word of the Kingdom, and you’re purposely rejecting it, then you are making yourself to be bad soil in some way. You are. You can absolutely move down like that. And we kind of do this all the time, right?
You can take a passage of Scripture, like say, when Paul says that a woman should not teach in the church, and you can say, “Eh, that’s not really my cup of tea. That was only meant for that time. Paul was a misogynist.” Or what about the passages on homosexuality? Haven’t you heard Christians try to disregard those passages by saying that love trumps anything else? Or what about the passages on murder? Haven’t you heard Christians, especially politicians who call themselves Christians, equivocate then when it comes to abortion?
What passage of the Word do you struggle with in this way? Is there anything that Jesus says, or that Paul says, or that Moses says, or that any write inspired by the Holy Spirit says, that you don’t like, that you have trouble with? Well, it is your freedom, I suppose, to reject that Word, yet by doing so, you’re rejecting the Word of God and are no longer holding to right teaching. It’s true.
So, you can make it so that you reject the Word of the Kingdom, if that’s what you want to do. You can make yourself bad soil. And when I say you make yourself bad soil, it’s like the ground that your dog visits every day during the winter.
But, please don’t think that God wants this for you. The interpretation of the parable hinges not on the soil, but on the sower. God Himself is the sower. And He lavishly spreads the seed of His Word upon all people, no matter where they are. Actually, this was a common practice in Jesus’ time. They didn’t dig rows and plant the seed and then cover it over. They would till the ground, broad cast the seed by hand, just throw it around, actually, and then cover it over with more soil or a second tilling. This is what God does as He spreads the Word of the Gospel to all.
He takes His Word, places it in the nail-pierced hands of His Son, who then throws it out all over the world, and covers it over with His own blood. Do you see how great the Father’s love is for all? He gives His Word to those who will not understand it because they don’t want to. He gives the Word to those who trust in princes rather than the King. He gives His Word to those who would rather chase after the lusting of their own hearts. He gives His Word to the ones who would seek after His knowledge and truth.
Our God is so good and loving that He doesn’t withhold His Word from any person, ever. Yet, by the actions of their hearts and minds and strengths, they reject the Word. This isn’t the fault of the sower, but the fault of the sinner. God’s Word is completely efficacious. That means that Word of God will always do what He wants it to do: it will cause faith to sprout up in the hearts of all who hear it. But, because we are slaves to sin, death, and the devil, our tendency is to choke that faith out, to starve it.
So, when you hear the Word of God, don’t choke it out. Instead receive it. If it is difficult to understand, meditate on it and seek the help of someone who can work to explain it. And if you disagree with it, repent, desire to believe the Word of God in what it says, and do not teach contrary to it until the days comes when your heart has been transformed by the grace of God to accept the difficulty of it.
This isn’t just true for the doctrines of God, as we think of them. It’s not just about ecclesiology, and the role of women in the church, and whether gay men and women can be in the church. It’s not just about the doctrines of justification, sanctification, and conversion. This is about, truly about, the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The truth is, even for those who struggle with the Word of God, Christ died for all. He lived for you, He died for you, He was resurrected for you. In Him, all your sins are forgiven. In Him, you have life eternal. In Him, you are welcomed into the Kingdom of God. You absolutely are.
By grace through faith, you know this to be true. As baptized believers in Jesus Christ, you know that the Lord has died for you, you know the Lord has washed you clean from your sins in your Baptism, you know that He feeds you with His body and blood at the Supper to strengthen you unto life everlasting. You know that you are forgiven, blessed, welcomed, and cared for by Him in this place. You know this. It’s true.
Sadly, you also know that many reject this. You know many who hear this news, welcome it, but fall away. You know many who struggle so hard, they leave. You know many who would rather chase after the riches of the world than the goodness of God. Do not be one of these. You can transform into this.
You see, we little can make ourselves grow into better soil. You have no more strength to make yourself better than you can lift the foundation of this church building. In fact, it’s even harder than that. Lifting Mount Everest from its base 20 times would be easier than making yourself believe in Jesus Christ. Only He can change you, only He can make that faith grow up inside of you.
And that’s what He does when He broad casts the seed. He is giving to all of the ground the faith which would make them well. Yet, they make themselves weak. They give into the struggle against sin, death, and the devil, and they make themselves weak and dead. They had been delivered from death already by Christ, they heard the Good News of Jesus for them, but gave into the desires of the world instead of trusting in the Lord’s love for them, His forgiveness to them.
For you, there is grace in the struggle. There is. If you are struggling with the Word of God, there is grace for you, for it shows that your heart of faith knows what God says, wants to believe God at His Word, and is fighting against sinful flesh. The struggle tells you that you have faith. But do not stop struggling. Be strengthened for the fight in this place. Seek after the Lord. Ask the pastor. Pray for endurance. Do not stop struggling.
When we stop, we lose the battle for our souls, and we follow after our master, the master which is sin. But, as we struggle, as we look to Jesus, we follow our Master who is the Lord. I would rather be a slave in the House of the Lord than dwell freely in the mansions of evil. And that’s not because of my strength, but because the Word preached to me is sweeter than honey, richer than milk, better than any news of the world. It’s true. And I struggle with that.
The temptations of the world seem to gleam more brightly, but that’s only because my sinful heart wants to lead me astray. It lies to me and tells me that my sin is sweeter. But, I struggle with this. I want to give up the works of darkness and bear the fruit of faithfulness. And because of that, I know that the Word of God is for, that Jesus is for me. And so, too, may you.
Don’t make yourself worse. Let Jesus make you better. He has and He continues to do so. He always will, for forgiveness and life are found in His Church, where the good soil always will be. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Now may the peace of God which passes all human understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord! Amen.
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